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BRUCE LAW’S RISING STARS MEET OUR NEWEST PARTNERS
JENNIFER B. RUBIN Jennifer developed her focus on
Few things excite us more than seeing our attorneys succeed and continue to make an even more significant difference in the community! We are proud to announce that five of our hard-working lawyers have been elevated to partner here at Bruce Law Firm.
family law while working as a student attorney ad litem at the University of Miami Children and Youth Law Clinic. She loved advocating for foster children and youth who were amid dependency, adoption, and parental rights cases. Before joining us, she worked at another local law firm, growing her skill sets. She serves compassionately and makes clients feel heard.
Congratulations to Sarina M. Sabatino, Liana M. Carrozza, Jennifer B. Rubin, Ashley M. Bustamante, and Katie McClellan.
Achieving partner status is a huge milestone for many attorneys, and it’s not only a win for them, but it also ripples through the rest of our team and the clients we serve. We believe in giving credit where credit is due and are grateful for their contributions to the firm. We hope they continue to radiate their passion as fierce yet caring leaders in this field.
Jennifer Rubin
ASHLEY M. BUSTAMANTE Ashley has known she wanted to be an attorney right from the beginning. Though she started her career as an associate attorney for a real estate and civil litigation law firm, she felt her true calling was family law. She met her husband while attending law school, and family is everything to her. At Bruce Law, she ensures clients understand the legal process and works hard for them so they can focus on their families and move forward.
Meet Bruce Law’s latest partners!
SARINA M. SABATINO Sarina is passionate about helping families transition healthily and positively during divorce, especially any children involved. She started her journey here at Bruce Law as a law clerk while awaiting the results of her bar exam before becoming one of our divorce and family law attorneys. Sarina wants to help people better themselves and their lives.
Ashley Bustamante
KATIE MCCLELLAN Katie knew she wanted to help children who are dealing with life-altering trauma as they move through foster care or significant changes like divorce. Before joining us in 2023, she developed her passion for family law while working at the Child Advocacy Law Clinic during law school. She brings years of litigation and trial experience to Bruce Law.
Sarina Sabatino
LIANA M. CARROZZA Liana has been practicing divorce and family law exclusively since 2006, inspired by her time clerking for a judge in the family division during law school. She brings experience to our firm and is devoted to helping clients solve complex legal problems and reach amicable solutions. She’s not one to shy away from a fight in court when that’s what it takes to serve her clients.
Katie McClellan
Congrats to our partners!
–Ashley and Chris Bruce
Liana Carrozza
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Have you ever feasted on chicken wings, your hands stained with barbecue sauce, and thought, Why don’t we just eat everything like this? As it turns out, we did — people only started eating their meals with cutlery fairly recently. Many cultures around the world still eat primarily with their hands. So, why are placemats adorned with forks, spoons, and knives commonplace today? To find out, we have to get our hands dirty — because the history of cutlery, much like the history of civilization, is complex, nuanced, and full of gossip. BIG SPOON LITTLE SPOON Perhaps unsurprisingly, spoons are the oldest examples of cutlery people used consistently for millennia. After all, what good is a fine pot of communal soup without a spoon to eat it with? Likewise, knives have always been used to cut up meat and prepare our meals, but only the advent of individualized meals rather than buffet-style brought along the advent of dinner knives. Forks, however, are an altogether newer invention. Although large serving forks can be traced as far back as Ancient Egypt, the individual, smaller version has its roots in the Byzantine Empire. Around one thousand years ago, the Byzantine noblewoman Theodora Doukaina brought a golden fork to her wedding feast in Venice. It became quite controversial among the Italians, with many shunning the novel tool as posh and overly decadent. However, as royals began to intermarry, the fork gradually caught on. Royals increasingly ate with cutlery and became weary of dirtying their hands with their food. By the 1800s, cutlery was widespread in the Western world, and today, most people and establishments serve meals with silverware! ANTIQUITY — MAKING A COMEBACK There’s a reason movie theater popcorn doesn’t come with a popcorn spoon and your favorite burger joint doesn’t offer sporks; some food is meant to be eaten with your hands. While most sit-down meals will always be the domain of the cutlery-wielding elite, finger food isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and if history has any say, it never will. THE EVOLUTION OF DINING ETIQUETTE FROM FINGERS TO FORKS
Spotting Gaslighting Tactics in Your Divorce MIND GAMES NO MORE Navigating a divorce or leaving an unhappy relationship can be one of the most challenging times in your life. When gaslighting enters the mix, it can become even more complicated and have you questioning many of your decisions. Understanding gaslighting, a form of psychological manipulation, is essential as you move through this time. From false narratives to controlling behavior, we’re uncovering the signs of gaslighting so you can minimize its emotional toll. WHAT IS GASLIGHTING? Gaslighting is a covert form of manipulation and emotional abuse that’s most common in romantic relationships. In this situation, an ex or partner will do anything to create a false narrative and cause you to doubt yourself, your plans, and even other people in your life. Usually, this manipulation occurs over time and can make you question your memories, lose self-esteem, and feel confused. After speaking with a gaslighter, you may wonder if something is wrong with you. (There isn’t; it’s just what your bully wants you to think.) WHAT ARE COMMON GASLIGHTING BEHAVIORS? Gaslighting can take different forms, including lying, blaming, denying, and minimizing. It’s typical for people who gaslight to lie blatantly and try to turn it on you if you call them on their bluff by saying things like, “You are making that up.” They may spread rumors about you, tell others lies about you, or even have you believe friends or family members are saying things about you that aren’t true. Your gaslighter will try to throw you off course by changing the subject or minimizing your feelings with statements like “you are overreacting.” WHAT ARE SIGNS THAT I’M BEING GASLIT? Understanding what the red flags of gaslighting feel like for you is crucial, as this behavior can lead to depression and anxiety. If you are being gaslit, you may find yourself silencing your opinions, walking on eggshells, questioning the validity of their words, feeling inadequate, or apologizing often. You may find it harder to make decisions or to trust yourself. By identifying these manipulative behaviors, you equip yourself with the power to break free from their emotional grip. Divorce is never easy, but with the clarity to see through gaslighting and the strength to trust yourself, you can emerge from this challenge more resilient and self-assured than ever.
Is your friend or client married to a controlling, manipulative, narcissistic husband?
OUR BOOKS CAN HELP!
The book can be downloaded for FREE at DivorceInformationBooks.com
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LEVEL UP YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE WITH A GROWTH MINDSET CAREER CLIMB
Are you ready to level up professionally? The power is at your fingertips if you develop a growth mindset and apply it to your career! Instead of remaining confined by your current skill sets and expertise, this transformative mindset empowers you to see all challenges as opportunities and every effort you’ve made as a pathway to mastery. Whether you’re eyeing a promotion or seeking a career change, here’s how to gain the proper perspective to reach your professional goals.
Plan to pick yourself back up after mistakes and practice gratitude for the learning opportunity you’ve gained. Remember, this is a moment that will help you improve your work performance and the overall success of your team. It’s also important to set time aside for practicing skills because the only way to grow is to dedicate time to it.
SEEK FEEDBACK. Constructive feedback is one of the best methods to improve your professional
performance. Ask your colleagues and leaders for input so you can rethink your strategies and grow your skills. If you don’t
IDENTIFY WHAT GROWTH MEANS TO YOU. Think about what you want to achieve most at work and create a list of career goals and what it will take to get there. Growth doesn’t always have to be a step up the ladder, like a promotion or a new role. It can also mean improving communication or building stronger relationships with coworkers. Whatever your goals are, stay in the habit of self- improvement, always looking for ways to develop new skills or grow your knowledge.
have a mentor already, seek out someone you know you can learn from and will give you specific evaluations to help you reach your goals. Criticism can be hard to take, but remember, this is a positive step and tool for success.
By embracing a growth mindset, learning from mistakes, and seeking feedback, you’re laying the groundwork for success in your career. With determination and a positive outlook, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.
LEARN FROM MISTAKES AND PRACTICE.
Everyone makes mistakes at some point in their careers, and they can teach you important lessons. Understand that experience is the best way to learn something, and you won’t always get it right.
You got this!
Have a Laugh!
SCRUMPTIOUS STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
Bursting with fresh strawberries and layered with fluffy biscuits and creamy whipped topping, this recipe is the perfect balance of sweet and tart.
Ingredients •
2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder
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1 large egg 2/3 cup milk
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1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
Directions 1.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
2.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until blended. 4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients; mix until blended. 5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan before serving. 6. Whip cream and sugar together until stiff peaks form. 7. Arrange strawberries on top of cake and spread whipped cream over top before serving.
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Celebrating Career Growth at Our Firm page 1
The Fascinating History of Cutlery How to Recognize and Resist Emotional Manipulation page 2 Transform Challenges Into Job Opportunities Scrumptious Strawberry Shortcake page 3
The Surprising Rules of Movie Currency page 4
LIGHTS, CAMERA, CASH WHY REAL MONEY CAN’T TAKE CENTER STAGE
REAL CASH CAN’T BE DESTROYED. Even though blowing up or burning money on camera can pump up the action for the audience, legal tender cannot be destroyed in movies. Anyone can be charged with a federal crime, punishable by 10 years in prison and fines for destroying money. Only the Federal Reserve has that power. Technically, it’s illegal to even flatten a penny. YOU CAN’T PRINT MONEY. Real currency is printed on a unique blend of cotton and linen available only to the U.S. government. Prop money can’t feel like the real deal. It has to be on paper and printed at a lower resolution. Robert De Niro didn’t like how the prop money felt in his hands while filming “Goodfellas.” To get around it, the prop master withdrew money from his bank account for De Niro to use. At the end of each scene, no one could leave until all the money was counted and returned.
Have you ever wondered how moviemakers can afford to blow up piles of money on the big screen? It turns out that it’s tricky, as the government has a set of strict rules to follow when studios feature U.S. currency on screen. So, roll out the red carpet because we’re about to explore the laws of prop money. IDENTICAL BILLS ARE ILLEGAL. Prop money can’t look identical to actual bills because of concerns about whether it could be circulated to the public and used. This happened after a “Rush Hour 2” scene where they blew up billions of dollars in prop money. Extras took home some of the fake cash and tried to use it in Las Vegas. The Secret Service got involved immediately, shutting down the shoot and confiscating the bills. If the money is a replica, it must be either 75% smaller or 150% larger than real bills. One of the most common methods studios use is printing only one side of the fake money. The design can also be altered slightly, like changing the shading or picture.
So, next time one of your favorite movie characters has cash to burn, remember, those are fake bills in the flames!
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